Common Misconceptions
John 4:4-26 – Link to the Verses: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4%3A4-26&version=KJV.
I recommend you read these verses first and while you are reading this post. It will be more helpful.
We as people have a tendency to prejudge others. We apply our common misconceptions and prejudices to others before even getting to know them. For example, if a random person dressed in all black having multiple tattoos and piercings walked into the church, one would assume that this person was some sort of crazy person that wanted to hurt the church members with threatenings. Or if a person pushing a cart and wearing raggedy clothes came to your front door you might assume that this was a beggar looking to cheap you out of money. So often we place misconceptions on others. In this passage in John, we find that this Samaritan woman had also placed some misconceptions on Jesus that show up as they have their conversation. Because of these misconceptions she failed to realize that she was talking to the Messiah, the chosen lamb of God who would not only take away our sins but fill her with a new heart and life that could not be comparable to anything that she had ever had.
The first misconception is found in vs. 9, when she asks, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” She began her conversation with Jesus Christ by automatically assuming that Jesus did not care for her in any way. She even went so far as to think that Jesus not only did not care but hated her with the same passion that most Jews had for Samaritans, for Jews thought Samaritans were half-breed dogs. But she was completely wrong, for Jesus cared for her more than she could imagine. Jesus took the time, being thirsty, to speak to this woman about her spiritually thirsty condition. Not only that, Jesus knew her current state of life by grasping her desire for fullfilment and longing for love by recognizing she had already had five husbands, yet He did not condemn her. Instead of answering back with “Yes, you are right. I shouldn’t talk to you,” He repsonded with “If you knew who I was and the gift that God has for you, you would have asked me to give you a drink.” So often people do not want to come to Jesus Christ because they feel that Jesus Christ does not love them. That He has only come to attack them and beat on them and give them a hard time. But they are completely wrong. Jesus Christ came to die for your sin, while you were still an enemy to Him. He loved you so much that He died for you. John 15:13 states, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus laid down his life for you. He cares for you. Don’t let your misconception about HIs love keep you from coming to Him.
The second misconception that the woman has is found in vs. 11 when she says, “Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from when then hast thou that living water?” Her second misconception of Jesus was that she thought that He was ill-equipped to serve her needs. When Jesus said that He could provide her with living water, the only thing she was thinking about was her physical need for water. She only considered the shame that she had to endure every time she went to the well to draw water and hear the other women gossip about her current adulterous state. She only considered her need to escape from all this trouble. She only considered her loneliness and her inability to find love and fulfillment wherever she went. She never noticed that Jesus Christ was the one person that would be able to set her free from her shame, to give her a love that fulfills, and to fill her with joy that could not be matched that it would overflow to others. She never noticed that she was talking to the Messiah, the only person who could give her this living water. Instead she focused on the physical things around her that she thought would be much better. Look at vs. 12, “Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank theof himself, and his children, and his cattle?” She thought that Jacob, a mere human patriarch was greater than the God of the universe. So often, we also make that mistake, thinking that Christ is ill-equipped to take care of our needs and that somehow we can solve our problems or find somebody who can. As if Christ did not have the credentials or the ability to handle each and every one of our problems. We think that He does not understand or does not have the ability to handle our problems, but He can and does. In Hebrews 4:15, we are told that “we have not an high preist which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus understands all our troubles and problems and cares for each one of them. He is also the Creator of the universe and the Lord of all, how can He not take care of each and every one of our problems.
The third misconception she had is found in vs. 15 when the woman responds in trust to Jesus Christ, “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” The woman only considered her physical need. She heard all this great news from Jesus Christ and decided, “Okay, I want that. So give it to me.” She basically treated Jesus Christ here as Santa Claus, coming to Him for the next present. She never realized that she had a deeper need that only Christ could fufill. She thought that Christ was only there to giver her what she wanted. Instead, Christ poignantly then pointed out her sin by asking for her husband, which she already had five of and was now with another man. So many people think of Christ as a “Get out of jail free” card from Monopoly. I am about to go to hell, so here’s my orange card, now I’m free. Yes, Christ died for you to set you free, but do you know what He set you free from? It was not only from the penalty of sin, which is hell. This is the one point that people keep pushing during evangelistic crusades, which is entirely true, but they forget the other things you are saved from. You are saved from the power of sin over you life so that it can no longer reign and take control of your actions. And most importantly from the presence of sin in the future, meaning that as we grow closer to Christ, we should be drifting closer and closer to Him and farther and farther away from our sin. Christ went and corrected this woman’s misconception of Him as a Santa Claus and pointed her to the truth and her real need.
The last misconception is found in vs. 19-20 where she states, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. OUr fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Preceding these verses, Jesus had just revealed to the woman that He knew about her adulterous or broken past, in which, she had five husbands and was currently living with a man who wasn’t her husband. She automatically assumed that Jesus was out there to attack her and not to only attack her lifestyle but her way of worshipping. The Jews had a strict policy that required people to worship only at Jerusalem, for that was where the temple was, but the Samaritans since they were treated as outcasts worshipped elsewhere, making them horrible sinners in the sight of the Jews. Once again, this woman thought that Jesus was there to condemn her, but He wasn’t. He was there to show her the truth. In just the previous chapter, Jesus told Nicodemus that He was not sent into the world to condemn the world but to save the world (vs. 17). The key point here was that Jesus wanted to show her life not condemnation. So instead of condemning her, He showed her some insights into her life that she really needed to see. First, He showed her her need for Him by revealing that she was thirsty and longing for fulfillment that only He could give her, when He revealed to her that He was the living water that would never make her thirst. Second, He revealed to her her sin, making her realize that she needed a Savior, when He showed her her adulterous past. Third, He showed her her misunderstanding of what worship and who God really is stating in vs. 22, “Ye woship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” And fourth and most importantly, He showed her that He was the solution in vs. 26, “I that speak unto thee am he [the Christ].” So many people refuse to come to Christ because they feel that He is only out there to get them. That all He wants to do is condemn them to death and send them to hell. But He has no longing that any of us should perish but that all would come to repentance.
What is keeping you from coming to Jesus today unbeliever? Is it your misconception that Christ does not care for you? He died for you. How can you say He does not love you? Is it your misconception that He cannot save you or that He is ill-equipped to take care of you and rescue you from the darkness in your soul? He is the Savior and Creator and Lord of the universe, He can do what He pleases. How can He not take care of you? Is it your misconception that He is only there to give you things when you want it? Christ knows what is best for you and that is your life in Him, following His ways and His commands. Is it your misconception that He is out to condemn you? No way. He wants you to come to Him and experience new life and love.
The Samaratin woman realize her mistake and turned to Christ and her new joy brought others of her villages to know Christ as well. Will you not turn to Him?
And for those who are believers, do not forget how loving, powerful, and forgiving our Savior is. So often we do not want to return to Him after we make a fault, but He is still there with open arms ready to fill you with His Spirit again. Turn to Him. Turn to Him my dear fellow disciples of Christ. Please do not let your misconceptions keep you from enjoying His love.
becomingadisciple 
Leave a comment